tune

n.

late 14c., "a musical sound, a succession of musical notes," unexplained variant of tone. Meaning "state of being in proper pitch" is from mid-15c.

tune

v.

"bring into a state of proper pitch," c.1500, from tune (n.). Non-musical meaning "to adjust an organ or receiver" is recorded from 1887. Verbal phrase tune in in reference to radio (later also TV) is recorded from 1913; figurative sense of "become aware" is recorded from 1926. Tune out "to eliminate radio reception" is recorded from 1908; figurative sense of "disregard, stop heeding" is from 1928. Related: Tuned; tuning.

tune out

tune

The Dictionary of American Slang, Fourth Edition by Barbara Ann Kipfer, PhD. and Robert L. Chapman, Ph.D.Copyright (C) 2007 by HarperCollins Publishers.Cite This Source

Idioms and Phrases with tune out

tune out

1.

Adjust a receiver so as not to receive a signal, as in Let's tune out all this interference.
[ Early 1900s
]

2.

Dissociate oneself from one's surroundings; also, disregard, ignore. For example, The average reader, used to seeing lots of color images, tunes out when confronted with big blocks of text, or Some mothers are expert at tuning out the children's whining and quarreling.
[ 1920s
]